How do I find out if the Library has the textbook I need?

Good question!  Finding a textbook can be simple or involved.  This is the process.  

Best case scenario:  the Gardner-Harvey Library has a copy of the textbook you want on Reserve for your course.  The Gardner-Harvey Library buys textbooks for about 30 Miami Plan courses.  In other words, we have many, but not all textbooks.  (Still the library is not the bookstore.  Just because the bookstore is selling or renting the 2014 print or electronic edition, it does not mean the library will have it too.)

At the Gardner-Harvey Library, all Textbooks on Reserve are listed by Course Number and Title so you can easily check.  In these cases, you may usually borrow the item for 2 hours.  You can keep it longer if you check the item out 2 hours before closing.  Then you may have it overnight and return it by 9 a.m. the next day the library is open.

If the textbook is not on reserve, search Books & More (the Miami University Libraries online catalog) to see whether any Miami library owns the title.  Search by Title or Author/Editor.  Sometimes the exact title and edition you want is in the collection!  Then you only need to find it in the stacks or click the Request Item button and enter your Miami ID and Password and Pickup location so that it can be shipped free by van to the nearest library.  You will receive a Miami email notification when it is ready for pickup.  Sometimes the library owns an older edition of the title and it is available.  If you are satisfied with this version, just request it as above.

If the textbook is unavailable at Miami University Libraries, then click the OhioLINK link displayed in your search results or go directly to the OhioLINK Library Catalog.  This allows you to check whether any of the 90 academic libraries in OhioLINK have a copy they are able to lend for several weeks with options to renew.  However, it is unlikely you will be able to keep the textbook for the entire semester.

 

To request an OhioLINK textbook, click the green Request button, Miami, and enter your Miami ID, Password, and Pickup location so the available item can be shipped in 3-5 days.  Sometimes you will find the exact edition you want; at other times you will only see older editions.  It is your decision.  If you see Due Date, Local Use Only, or Missing, the item is not available.  You may choose to pursue another option. 

Other options include:
Finding an eBook of the title, in one of Miami's databases or electronic collections
Checking to see whether a local public library might have the title you want
Going to the bookstore to buy or rent a copy
Buying the textbook online

Library materials added in December and January

To bring you up to date on what has recently been added to the collection, a new materials list is now available that reflects additions during December and January. We added 172 books, DVDs, and other items during that time, thanks to your selections and suggestions. The list is sorted by call number, with items grouped roughly by subject area.  

This tag will show you all of the prior lists of new materials.  

Is something missing from this list?  Or missing from our collection?

If you have a suggestion of something to order for the 2013/14 fiscal year, please use our online request form, email Jennifer Hicks or one of our other staff members, or drop by the library with your request at any time.  We are working to spend our acquisitions budget for the year, and we need your requests to make that happen.  What do you need?  Let us know.

Thanks again for keeping our collection vibrant and your information needs met!

The Loving Story: Freedom and Equality in America

A couple marries.  It seems an ordinary event, one to celebrate. But in this instance it was fraught with fear.  It led to their arrest.  It unfolded in legal battles, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Virginia in 1958 was a very different place than it is today.  State law banned the marriage between persons of different races.   Mildred and Richard Loving's story is powerful and personal.  Preview this clip from The Loving Story.

Please join us for a screening and discussion of this 2011 documentary, facilitated by Dr. Brian Domino., on Thursday February 13, 2014 in CCC 142 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.  It promises to be a memorable evening with you there.  Free and open to the public.

Created Equal: American's Civil Rights Struggle is part of the Bridging Cultures initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities, produced in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  This is the first of four 2014 Created Equal programs to be held in Middletown, hosted by the Gardner-Harvey Library.